Truth behind Kimi Antonelli and Olivia Rodrigo relationship rumours after George Russell trolling
George Russell hilariously trolled his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli as he found himself at the centre of romance rumours with pop star Olivia Rodrigo
Kimi Antonelli has been linked with Olivia Rodrigo by fans on social media(Image: Xavi Urgeles/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
F1 World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has found himself at the centre of romance rumours with pop star Olivia Rodrigo, and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell couldn’t resist trolling him.
A video emerged of the American singer thanking fans at one of her concerts, and a man with curly hair could be seen in the front row. Amid fans clambering to record Rodrigo as she walked on stage, time seemed to freeze as she looked back in the direction of a man smiling back at her.
Speculation went into overdrive as fans questioned whether the mystery man in the VIP area was indeed Antonelli, with his looks similar to the Italian sensation.
Kimi Antonelli’s doppelganger was spotted at an Olivia Rodrigo concert
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However, it was nothing but a case of mistaken identity with the man in shot not Antonelli, even before question marks around Rodrigo’s love life start – it’s no interest to us if it’s not the 20-year-old Italian.
During the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, which has taken place in Malaysia after the original race earlier this year was cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, Russell poked fun at the rumours.
In a clip posted to Mercedes’ social media page, Russell searched for Olivia Rodrigo on Spotify to play in the team’s garage.
Olivia Rodrigo has been the talk of the Mercedes garage(Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
George Russell poked fun at Kimi Antonelli
Brilliantly, Antonelli joined in with the jokes, as he asked the Briton to play the 23-year-old singer he was mistakenly rumoured to be dating.
Russell replies: “Kimi” before Antonelli chooses the song “De Ja Vu”. The video ended with Russell quipping: “The mechanics are going to love that.”
The two Mercedes team-mates saw themselves battling it out again on track at Sepang as they both raced off the line during a chaotic start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, around Sepang.
The 23-year-old singer will be well aware of Kimi Antonelli now(Image: Getty Images)
Torrential rain caused the start of the race to be delayed by an hour and 40 minutes, and when lights eventually went out, the Mercedes duo on intermediate tyres shot off the line, with others on the grid, including Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, making the wrong decision to start on slicks.
A safety car restart saw Russell overtake Antonelli before the Italian retook the position, but Max Verstappen was able to take the lead and open up a gap to the two Mercedes.
Alex Albon’s mechanical problem brought out another late safety car; however, Russell’s title chances went up in smoke as he had to pull over and retire due to a power unit issue.
Antonelli chased Verstappen home to claim P2 and open up a gap of almost 100 points atop the standings. Hamilton was incredibly able to finish on the podium after dropping as far back as P17.
